Vania



(No Model.)

J. WOOD & W. WILKINSON. MUSIC LEAF HOLDER.

No. 587,774. Patented Aug. 10,1897.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH IVOOD AND IVALTER IVILKINSON, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYL- VANIA, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO SAMUEL BATEMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

MUSIC-LEAF HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 587,774, dated August 10, 1897. I

Application filed April 30, 1895. Serial No. 547,696. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, JOSEPH IVOOD and WALTER WILKINSON, citizens of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Music-Leaf Holder, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to music-leaf holders, consisting in an improvement upon the construction disclosed in our former patent, No. 495,865, granted April 18, 1893, the present invention having for its object to simplify the construction and provide such an arrangement of parts as to insure the accurate holding of the leaves of a book or sheet without interfering with the turning of the leaves with facility when desired.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a leaf-holder embodying our invention applied in the operative position to a desk. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective View of one end of the device, showing the contiguous weighted arm and the means for securin g the bar to the desk. Fig. 3 is a detail side view of the weighted arm, showing the bar and slide in section. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the pressure-sprin g used in connection with the slide. Fig. 5 is a detail view of one end of the holder, showing a slightly-modified form of means for securing the bar to a musicrack, the same being adapted for use in connection with a metallic stand, such as is in use in orchestras. showing the pivotal connection between the holding-finger and the weighted arm.

The same numerals of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The improved weighted arm comprises a casting, of which 1 represents a weight slotted or bifurcated at its upper end, as shown at 2, to receive a supportingear 3, to which the arm is pivoted, and of which 4 represents an integral extension, forming the body portion of the arm. The arm is provided upon Fig. 6 is a detail view its rear side, at an intermediate point, with parallel ears 5, between which is pivotally mounted a reduced extension 6 of a bearingfinger 7 said finger being curved rearwardly toward its upper end and being adapted to hear at its free extremity against the pages of a book or sheet upon the rack in connection with which the device is employed. Inasmuch as the lower extremity of the bearing finger is pivotally connected to the weighted arm at a point below the upper extremity of the latter it will be seen that the portion 8 of said arm above the pivotal connection of the finger forms a stop which positively limits the backward movement of the bearing-finger and prevents the same from passing in front of its center of gravity. In other words, the backward swinging movement of the bearing-finger is limited before it reaches a vertical position, and hence the center of gravity of the bearing-finger is always in rear of its pivotal point, and hence it always bears against the pages of the book or sheet and cannot be thrown out of operative position.

In order to limit the downward 0r rearward movement of the bearing-finger, the ears 5 upon the rear side of the weighted arm are provided with shoulders 9 to engage the shoulders 10 upon opposite sides of the extension 6 at the lower extremity of the bearing-finger, whereby the bearing-finger cannot fall below a position approximately in ahorizontal plane.

The ears 3 may be. carried by slides 11, consisting of cross-sectionally angular sleeves or barrels fitted upon a bar 12 and'adapted to be moved to different positions upon said bar to suit the size of the book or sheet upon the rack, and said slides are held at the desired points on the bar by friction secured by means of pressure'springs 13, arranged in the sleeves or barrels, between the rearsides thereof and the contiguous surface of the bar, said springs consisting of flat plates provided with terminal shoulders 14 to prevent longitudinal dis placement, said shoulders being arranged to engage the extremities of the sleeves. These springs are bowed centrally to exert pressure against the rear surface of the bar.

Various means may be employed for securing the bar to the rack, depending mainly upon the construction of the rack. In Figs. 1 and 2 we have shown a construction of fastening device'adapted for use in connection with piano or organ racks, the same consisting of plates 15, (see Fig. 2,) adapted to be inserted between the lower edge of the rack and the frame of the instrument, said plates carrying sockets 16, in which are fitted the extremities of the bar.

In Fig. '5 we have shown a form of fastening device adapted for use in connection with the racks or stands commonly used by orchestras and having spring-clips 1?, consisting of upper and lower jaws adapted to engage the edge of the supporting-ledge forming the bottom of the rack.

From the above description it will be seen that the swinging weighted arm extending above the plane of the fastening means Whereby the device is secured to a music-rack and a pivotal bearing-finger of which the pivotal point is below the upper extremity of the arm, this upper extremity of the arm serving as a stop to limit the forward or outward swinging movement of the finger, is simple and efficient in holding the leaves of a book or sheet of any ordinary size or thickness, inasmuch as the bearing-fingeris adapted to assume a position to suit the thickness of the book or sheet. Furthermore, in turning the leaves of the book or sheet successively, as required by the performer, no manipulation of the holding-arms is necessary. The leaf to be turned is grasped at the outer edge and turned in the ordinary manner, and the pressure of the lower edge of the leaf against the arms successively deflects the same laterally to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

The pivotal point of the weighted arm being below the plane of the bar, it will be seen that lateral pressure exerted upon the upper end of the arm will throw the latter into an approximately horizontal position, with its up per extremity in or below the plane of the upper surface of the bar, and as the upper extremity of the arm is swung laterally the contact of the inner or rear surface of the bearing-finger with the bar swings said finger outwardly or forwardly until it is in such position as to allow the arm to occupy an approximately horizontal position.

From the above description it'will be seen that the device embodying our invention is simple and involves no complicated features of construction. The bearing-finger consists of a slightly-curved bar pivoted at one extremity between the ears, which may be upstruck from the body portion of the weighted arm, and the stop which is employed to limit the forward or outward movement of the finger is integral with and consists of an extension of the body portion of said arm instead of being formed as a part of the finger, as in our former patent, above mentioned.

It will be seen that with the exception of the pivot of the weighted arm the only joint is that between the lower extremity of the finger and the upstruck ears 5, the extension, 8 being in the plane of the body portion of the arm, and hence involving no special operation in the manufacture of the device.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- 1. In a leaf-holder, the combination of a bar and means for securing the same to a music- 'rack, slides comprising sleeves or barrels mounted to slide upon said bar and having depending ears, friction-springs arranged in the sleeves or barrels and having shouldered extremities to prevent longitudinal displacement and bowed intermediate portions to beat upon the surface of the bar, and weightedarms pivotally mounted upon said depending ears below the plane of thebar and adapted to swing laterally in a vertioalplane, the upper extremities of said arms projecting above the plane of the bar in the pathof the leaves of a book or sheet, substantially as specified.

2. In a music-leaf holder, the combination of a clip adapted to engage the ledge or rest of a m usic-stand and having upper and lower jaws to bear, respectively, against the upper and lower surfaces of said ledge or rest, a pivotal weighted arm adapted to swing laterally in a vertical plane and carrying a pivotal bearing-finger arranged above the plane of the clip and mounted upon the arm at a point below the upper extremity of the latter to swing toward and from said upper extremity, whereby the portion of the arm above the pivotal point of the bearing-finger forms a stop to limit the outward or forward movement of. the finger,

and connections between said clip and the piv otal weighted arm whereby the latter is supported with its pivot-point below the plane of the clip, substantially as specified.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH WOOD. VALTER YVILKINSON.

IIO 

